rant · moment 18 of 19
The System Works: Why Alt-Journalists Stay Marginal
from What is Shangri-La · #129
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
5 minTim reflects on the real lesson of two and a half years doing the show: that marginalized journalists often stay marginal not just due to top-down suppression but because they lack the skill or charisma to break through, concluding that the ruling elite maintain power through myths society needs to function.
- 53:57Tim suggests taking a gun to a cup to do something about the horror rather than just laugh about it.
- 54:39Pursuing this kind of journalism teaches you how unfulfilling the work actually is.
- 55:19Tim's realization: the system works not just through top-down suppression, but because alt-journalists are often unprepared and incapable of communicating their ideas effectively.
- 56:05If someone were genuinely talented enough, success would keep them in the mainstream because it's enticing to say you could do more from the inside than the outside.
- 56:28The only people who stay on the outside are marginal at best, lacking the personality, networks, and celebrity-building ability that rise journalists to the top.
- 57:00The ruling class and essentially the entire country have a vested interest in perpetuating certain myths rather than truth.
- 57:42Tim nearly teared up at the Bush funeral recognizing these people are demons while the mythos around them was so strong he almost believed it.
- 57:56Myths carry more weight in society than truth ever will, and even the false things people believe are essential just to survive day to day.